AlabamaSpothunter

That's fantastic news Lynn, and thanks for checking in with us! I wish they could bottle up your toughness and resolve and sell it, Redbull wouldn't have anything on that 😎

Check out the Autoboat smart head from tinyboatnation......I'm considering one myself AUTOBOAT SMART HEAD GPS Pro Anchor System - for 12V Minn Kota 30-55 Lb - Tiny Boat Nation ETA: For about $1k you can have a spotlock TM with remote control access

Geecrack Cue Bombs and Imo Kemushi 60 and 95s. This will be the year of fuzzy baits.

Foot controlled TM control is such an advantage, that would be the first thing I would upgrade if I had a different boat for the home lake. I think a Minn Kota Edge is the easy button. I like to use Facebook marketplace when looking for motors or electronics. Usually can save some good money buying it there. I've even bought brand new motors in the box for significantly cheaper than MSRP. IIrc you have FFS, so a foot controlled front mounted TM makes all the difference in the world there as well.

Nope, but I retire hard baits once they've caught a 8lb+ fish. Every good soldier deserves to be relieved once they've served their time 😎

Seeing the pictures of several inches of snow on Panama City and Destin beaches is pretty mind blowing........Key West will be our only refuge 😁

Alpha Angler Chatterbound Not the prettiest rod, but it was honestly game changing for me. It's 7'2 though. It's also the best moving bait rod I've ever owned in general. It works just as good for a blade bait as it does a bladed jig.

Bro, it's gonna be 38 degrees this afternoon......how about a little sympathy 🤣 We don't even own warm coats down here......we've got closets full of Fall weather coats 😮

We didn't get snow like a few weeks ago, but I've been couped up the last 4 days and I'm about to go bananas. Today the high is still only low 30s, but I've gotta get a few hours outside at least. I can't find anything to do when it's cold after the first day or two when I finish all the chores around the house. Yanks and Canucks are built out of something different. I have no idea how they deal with winters. I can hardly manage 7-10 days a season.

It really just depends on what depth you're trying to reach and what line size you're using. I think Megabass + lineup is just too hard to beat so I only use the World Minnow and smaller World Minnow the Zumverno 95. I would suggest any new jerkbait angler have 4 staple jerkbait sizes/depths. You really can't just use one and hope to fully utilize the technique. 1. Fullsize 110 length jerkbait that runs 4-6ft 2. Downsized 90 length jerkbait that runs 4-6ft 3. Fullsize 110 length +1 jerkbait that runs 6-10ft 4. Downsized 90 length +1 jerkbait that runs 6-10ft

As someone who is considering a FMJ......I'd use a JDM Zillion HD TW. Perfect reel for that rod imho.

Yeah, the Shimano jerkbaits are the only ones I've found that really bring something new to the game, and that's flashboost technology. It really does seem to work, as I've found their flashboost World Pop and Armajoint big swimbait both to be very effective baits. The foil insides flashes with seemingly no movement needed. It's suspended using two tiny springs. The Shimano jerkbaits suspend more consistently out of the box than the Megabass models, and the hooks that come on the Shimano baits are the best OEM hooks I've ever seen. Shimano sadly wouldn't sell me extra OEM hooks though. Overall the Shimano jerkbaits are less finessey than the Megabass ones. You can rip the Shimanos a little bit harder, especially the standard depth models. I still feel like the Vision 110 is the king though, it just out produces in my experience and I'm a jerkbait fan. I don't think there is substitute for the Vision Jr lineup. For standard size jerkbaits, there are lots of substitutes though.

Not much cheaper, but imho better quality are the Shimano World Minnow and the Zumverno The Rerange is a great warmer water jerkbait, as it's more violent. Hard to beat the Megabass or Shimano offerings imho.

I struggle with words after reading such a terrible thing happening to such a wonderful person. We love you too brother!!!!! Modern medicine can create miracles, and so can a higher power, whomever that might be for you. Fight this thing to the death, never give up! We're always going to be here for you, and so will the rest of your family and friends. You'll never be alone going through this fight! Saying a prayer for you and your family now and will continue to do so.

@Team9nine Alabama has a B.A.I.T. program that is very similar, and my favorite data point is they give how many hours fished per 5lb fish for all the big public lakes. Very telling data point in my book. Bass Anglers Information Team (BAIT) | Outdoor Alabama

As I always say, they don't call him Big Fish Pat for no reason 😉

I consider 5lb+ fish to be big Bass. I consider any Bass over 3lbs or 17.5" to be a quality catch though, and if I wanted to get a full picture of how well a lake's Bass population is, I'd start at that point. Once a Bass gets to about 17.5", it's got a great chance at becoming a big Bass. To me that's the number where you see a dramatic drop off in numbers of fish in a particular size class. In the month of January I've caught a total of 163 Bass thus far, of which 9 were over 5lbs 9 divided by 163 = 5.5% You can take that deeper...... 4 fish over 5lbs = 2.45% 3 fish over 6lbs = 1.8% 1 fish over 7lbs = .613% 1 fish over 9lbs = .613% Those numbers likely hold pretty true outside of the months of October, November, and December. It's ridiculous how hard 5lb+ fish are to catch in those months for me. If we really thought about the percentage chances of catching a 8lb NLMB, or a 10lb southern fish, we'd never go fishing. We're talking lottery winning percentages when it comes to catching those caliber fish outside of few places where they exist in stupid numbers.

I got a JDM 23 Stradic 3000XG back in October......incredibly smooth and quiet.

Yeah the Li Time I bought has "Low-temperature charging cutoff protection, preventing charging below 0°C to protect the battery and extend its life."

One of the biggest differences between first and third world nations is the quality of their watersheds. Nothing is more striking than looking at pictures of rivers in India or China. It's beyond sad, it's maddening and depressing. As the supreme intelligent being on the planet, it's our responsibility to protect the environment so that every other organism has the chance at a healthy life. I guess we're tree hugging friends now 🤣

Had a similar thought but just use a stranding tool and add your skirt material to your favorite jighead minnow setup. Also kind of sounds like the OP is describing a swimjig using an Alabama Shake technique. That only generates vertical movement for the most part though, and it seems OP is looking for darting or horizontal movement. I think your idea of using the BR Fish is the best way to get a darting action.

Back in October I paid $195 for a Li Time 12.8v 100ah battery. A lead acid group of 29 12v 100ah marine deep cycle battery from Walmart + recycling fee is about $125 We know lead acid batteries aren't getting any cheaper for the most part, so to me the absolute floor for how low a 12v 100ah battery can cost is around that $125 mark. For $70 more you get a battery that's has the power equivalent to a 12v 200ah lead acid battery that is 1/5th the weight of the 100ah lead acid. The point I'm trying to make is that even if they get a little bit cheaper, we're already at the point where it's a no brainer decision to go with lithium over lead acid or AGM, and whatever savings you might get by waiting another year or two likely won't be all that significant. I'd go ahead and buy them.

That sucks, the Lions were such a fun team to watch, and more importantly a fun team to root for. Campbell, and Johnson did an amazing job, and Johnson is going to make a spectacular HC......wish the Falcons would fire Morris and hire him. Can't be easy to lose in the playoffs because of one single player. Goff just choked that game away, devastating performance.

I haven't John. I've read that the +2 really needs a different rod, although I'm sure it would work in a pinch. I throw mainly 110s/+1, 110jrs/+1......Shimano World Minnow and Zumernvo?.......Jackall Rerange, and LC Staysees. Throw the Stunna 112 as well.

Good luck Pat!!!! All I know is that when the levee breaks for you, it's going to be absolutely spectacular. I can't even imagine how much of a benefit it is currently for all your heavily pressured fisheries to be getting ZERO fishing pressure. That would make me so excited! I suspect you're going to experience the most epic fishing of your life before the spawn. You heard it here first 😎